Lokum or Turkish Delight Recipe: An Ancient Middle Eastern Sweet that is Perfect with Turkish Coffee

Lokum, or Turkish Delight is one of the great sweets of the Middle East. Served fresh and still slightly warm off the stove it bears little resemblance to the cold, leathery squares marketed in specialty food shops. When Lokum is well made and in its prime, the edges of the candy squares should be tender and brushed with powdered sugar and the insides, yielding to the bite and dissolving in your mouth with melting gooeyness.

A traditional accompaniment to Turkish Coffee, ladies would often spend a leisurely hour or two, sipping "Kahve" (Turkish Coffee), nibbling of small squares of Lokum and engaging in a sort of fortune-telling game known as "Fal," where the tiny coffee cups were flipped over on their saucers, turned three times and the resulting sludge scrutinized for signs of the drinkers’ good …or ill…fortune. Whichever way the grounds fell, a bit of Lokum would sweeten the news!

That is not to say that women had all the fun - or all the Lokum. Men traditionally did their socializing in public coffeehouses, where the cups of Turkish Coffee and bites of Lokum went down well, as they gossiped about the news of the day over games of tabli.

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Turkish Delight Recipe

Ingredients:

• 8 cups of sugar
• 8 cups of water
• 1 ½ cups of corn starch
• 3 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice
• 3 or 4 Drops of Bergamot oil (about 1/8 cup of Rose Water or Orange Water could be substituted for a slightly different flavor)
• Pistachio Nuts (optional – but they add so much to the end result)
• Powdered Sugar for dusting the final product

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Preparation:

1. Heat the water (but do not boil)
2. Mix the cornstarch and sugar together well and add to the heated water, it over LOW heat, until it dissolves.
3. Continue to cook over a low fire until the mixture thickens (to about the consistency of pudding).
4. Lower the heat even further and continue to cook, stirring constantly for about one hour.
5. Ten minutes before the hour is up, add the lemon juice and bergamot oil (or Rose or Orange water).
6. Remove from the heat and stir in the pistachio nuts.
7. Pour into a shallow pan (that has been sprayed with cooking spray).
8. Cut into small squares (no more than 1/2 to 1 inch square, as the candy is very sweet and rich).
9. Place the powdered sugar into a shallow bowl or plate and coat each square with sugar before serving.

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